BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) – After going largely unnoticed for decades, state water quality regulators are setting their focus on a common practice in oil production – wastewater ponds.

In an inventory completed this November, staff at the Central Valley Regional Water Control Board found 1,074 wastewater ponds. Of those, 716 are still active, though 182 were designated as “unregulated.”

The board has been issuing enforcement actions since April to operators that are out of compliance…